Hundreds honor wounded Marine on cross-country tour

Published: Monday, June 10, 2013 at 09:37 PM.

“Since I’ve been hurt, the motorcycle community has been there for me,” Love said. “We’re going to be back every year. I don’t really know what else to say — just, thank you.”

Money collected during Love’s trip to New York will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation’s Building for America’s Bravest program.

He began the journey last month in Georgia and made his way to Greenville before arriving in Cherokee County last Saturday.

He’ll arrive in New York a day before the annual Tunnel to Tower 5k, Love said.

That event commemorates the journey of firefighter Stephen Siller, who carried 60 pounds of equipment from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center, where he died while helping to save others.

Nearly 30 bikers joined first responders in escorting a piece of history and a hero through Cleveland County recently.

Steel from the World Trade Center and Todd Love, a former Marine who lost both legs and an arm in Afghanistan, were escorted from a rural fire department in Cherokee County, S.C., to the Charlotte Fire Academy.

Hundreds of emergency responders in Cherokee County lined the route, blocking oncoming traffic while showing their support.

In Gaffney, S.C., sheriff’s deputies, state highway patrolmen, city police and local firefighters blasted sirens, honked horns and saluted as the convoy drove past. One ladder truck was stretched over Limestone Street with a large American flag hanging from it.

In Blacksburg, volunteer firefighters and paramedics were joined along the road by passing drivers who pulled over for the bikers. Some waved while others flashed peace signs from their cars.

Goucher White Plains Fire Chief Jimmy Lamb, who kept watch over the steel at his fire station over the past week, headed up the convoy in one of the department’s fire engines.

“For us and especially a community of our size, to be able to do something like this — it’s a huge honor,” he said. “Although it’s a small piece of steel, it represents tremendous sacrifice. It’s been really inspiring.”

‘It’s inspiring for all of us’

The trek to Charlotte is part of a cross-country tour Love has organized with motorcycle clubs to help raise money to build homes for other wounded warriors. He’ll carry the steel, shaped into a heart, to New York City in time for a memorial run meant to honor a firefighter killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Love, director of Bikers for America’s Bravest, said the turnout was the largest since his trek began several weeks ago in Georgia.

Before the ride, Love was presented with a firefighter’s helmet and proclaimed a lifetime, honorary member of the department.

“For me to be driving that truck, look in the mirror and see a real American hero,” Lamb said, “personally, it’s humbling. It’s inspiring for all of us.”

Love was caught off-guard by the gesture and impressed by the outpouring of support in the small community.

“This is probably the coolest thing anyone has given me in a long time,” he said.

‘It reminds you why you do this’

Goucher School Road, where the fire station is located, was lined by small American flags early Saturday.

In the fire station, bikers and others who wanted to show their support thanked Love and took photographs of the steel heart.

The fire department became involved in the route at the behest of firefighter Jonathan Wyatt, who is also a member of the Americas Guardians, a motorcycle club for veterans, police and other public safety workers.

“It means a lot,” Wyatt said. “You touch that steel and it brings it home. The tones go off and it motivates you. It reminds you why you do this.”

Bikers from several motorcycle clubs across the Carolinas attended the ride, which cost $25 per bike.

John Baker, southeast regional representative for Americas Guardians, said he and his wife traveled from Aiken, S.C., for the ride.

“It’s a very important cause,” he said. “I know it’s very dear to our heart.”

Still serving his country

Love spoke briefly at the event. He explained how he lost his legs and arm after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in October 2010.

Love woke up in a hospital in Germany, missing both his legs and his left arm.

But his injuries haven’t slowed him down.

Since being injured, Love has surfed, skydived and wrestled an alligator. He also was given a custom-built home to make life with his injuries easier. Now, he’s working to make sure other injured veterans get the opportunity to have as normal a life as possible.

He said the motorcycle community played a large part in welcoming him home and said he knew the community would help him on his current mission.

“Since I’ve been hurt, the motorcycle community has been there for me,” Love said. “We’re going to be back every year. I don’t really know what else to say — just, thank you.”

Money collected during Love’s trip to New York will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation’s Building for America’s Bravest program.

He began the journey last month in Georgia and made his way to Greenville before arriving in Cherokee County last Saturday.

He’ll arrive in New York a day before the annual Tunnel to Tower 5k, Love said.

That event commemorates the journey of firefighter Stephen Siller, who carried 60 pounds of equipment from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center, where he died while helping to save others.